I want to get better at Codeforces, but honestly, I’m still trying to figure out how to train properly.

I already have some experience with competitive programming. I participated in MTS True Tech and made it to the semifinals, so algorithms and problem solving aren’t completely new to me. But Codeforces feels different, especially when it comes to solving problems quickly and consistently during a contest.

I’m a C++ developer, so I’m comfortable with the language and I can build relatively complex projects. But when I sit down to solve a Codeforces problem, I often realize that knowing C++ and being good at competitive programming are two very different things.

The hardest part for me right now isn’t writing the code. It’s looking at a problem and quickly understanding what idea I should try, what patterns I should recognize, and when I’m simply going in the wrong direction.

So I wanted to ask people who are already good at Codeforces: if you could go back to when you were around 800–1000 rating, what would you do differently?

Would you focus mostly on solving lots of problems, study algorithms systematically, participate in every contest, spend more time analyzing editorials, or something else?

I’d especially like to hear from people who actually went through the climb from around 800 to 1200, 1400 and beyond.

I’m going to try doing it properly from now on, without using AI during contests, and see how far I can get. If you’ve gone through this process yourself, what is the one thing that helped you improve the most?